Waiting Room
by Alliegirl
Summary: She was tired of being treated like a child. Tired of being sheltered, protected, and lead around like an infant. She was blind, not stupid
1. What to do, what to do

A/N Hey, this is another new story. I'm not really sure where it is going, but then I rarely do when I start writing. Anyway tell me what you think.  
  
Also this story starts out when Jess first gets to town and he and Luke are going to Lorelai's to have dinner.  
  
'This is so pathetic,' Jess thought as he made his way up the steps to the Gilmore house, with Luke. He could be reading, listening to music. . .hell, he could be organizing his sock drawer and have more fun.  
  
Jess groaned as the door opened, revealing Lorelai.  
  
"Hey" Lorelai greeted "perfect timing. Skokie's about to break her own record for the most food served outside the Roman Empire."  
  
'Funny,' Jess thought, mentally rolling his eyes, theses people were pathetic, especially this one  
  
"Sounds great" Luke smiled  
  
Ugh Jess thought giving another mental eye roll  
  
Urgh "Sure does" Jess added  
  
Jess walked into the living room, glancing around, the place was definitely better than his. He glanced at the mantle, it was littered with pictures of a girl at various stages of life, and she was actually smiling. He glanced down the line of pictures looking at the more recent ones; she was O.K looking, but nothing special.  
  
"Hey Jess, wanna come on in the kitchen?" Lorelai asked.  
  
Jess turned and followed Luke and Lorelai into the kitchen, where he saw two other people working  
  
"Sookie, Jackson," Lorelai started. "I want you to meet Luke's nephew. This is Jess"  
  
Jess gave a slight head nod, by way of saying hello  
  
"Do you eat cheese?" Sookie asked anxiously.  
  
"What?" Jess said, eyebrows raised, these people were nuts, his mom was a class act, she sends him to live with an uncle he'd only meet once, in no where's Ville Connecticut to live in a town of friggin psycho's  
  
"Oh my God," Jackson exclaimed. "This is the greatest lemon I have ever grown. I mean, this is a great lemon. Sookie, you gotta try this lemon. Isn't it a great lemon?"  
  
Oh for the love of god, Jess thought. He wanted to scream, 'It's just a god damn lemon you fucking moron,' but he kept his mouth shut. Talking like that probably wouldn't go over well in this one horse town, and he was within hitting distance of Luke.  
  
"That is a great lemon." Sookie agreed.  
  
Oh yeah his head was defiantly going to explode if he didn't get the hell out.  
  
"Try it, it's a Meyer." Jackson said holding up his prized lemon  
  
"Jackson grows fruit and then scares people with it." Lorelai explained. "Rory, they're here!"  
  
"Coming!" a voice called, from a near by bedroom.  
  
Jess turned, making his way to the room the voice had come from. Anything or anyone in there had to be better than these nuts.  
  
Rory paused as she heard someone enter the room. At first she thought it was her mother, but they didn't say anything so that defiantly ruled out Lorelai.  
  
"Hey" Rory greeted, turning around to face the door.  
  
'Wow,' Jess thought, her photos did not do her justice. He stared a second longer than necessary. Her eyes were a beautiful sea blue; they reminded him of his mothers, before she started drinking.  
  
"Hey" Jess said, giving her a head nod, while keeping his face neutral.  
  
"I'm Rory," She said giving him a smile.  
  
"Yeah, I figured," he said, making his way further into her room.  
  
"Nice to meet you," Rory said politely.  
  
'Geez,' Jess thought. "How polite can someone get?' He did his 100th mental eye roll before turning to her bookshelf.  
  
"Wow, aren't we hooked on phonics" He said, running his hands over the books.  
  
"Oh, I read a lot. Do you read?" Rory asked, getting up and standing behind him.  
  
Jess felt his heart give a funny leap. God this town was already getting to him, or maybe it was the girl. 'No,' Jess said to himself, he didn't like girls like her she was too nice, innocent, pure. . .beautiful. Damn it!  
  
"Not much," Jess said taking a book off the shelf  
  
"I don't think you'll get much out of those," Rory said of her books.  
  
"What?" Jess said, turning to face her.  
  
"Well, you can't read them. . .can you?"  
  
Jess stared at her for a beat. Was she actually standing there questioning his intelligence?  
  
"Yeah, I can read," he replied, with a slight tightness to his voice.  
  
"Sorry," she said sincerely. "It's just most people can't read it."  
  
"It?" Jess questioned.  
  
"Braille," Rory said, opening the book and showing him.  
  
Jess looked at the book, and then turned back to her. For the first time he noticed that her eyes weren't focusing on anything, they had a far away look to them, like someone who was day dreaming.  
  
"You're. . .are you?"  
  
"Blind?" Rory said with a slight smile. "Yes I am. Didn't anyone tell you?"  
  
"No, I guess it just never came up."  
  
Rory shrugged. "I guess it makes sense. Everyone's so used to it that they don't even think about it."  
  
Before Jess could respond Lorelai appeared in the door way.  
  
"Okay, we really need to get Jackson away from the lemons now," Lorelai joked. "So we're moving the feast in the living room."  
  
"Be right there" Rory said, giving her a smile.  
  
"So do these open?" Jess asked, searching for a way to open the windows.  
  
Rory turned towards the direction of his voice. "What?"  
  
"The window."  
  
"Oh yeah" Rory said, walking over to him "You just have to unlatch them and then push," She said demonstrating.  
  
"Great Shall we?" Jess said.  
  
"Shall we what?" she asked him cluelessly.  
  
Duh "Bail" Jess said.  
  
"No" Rory said in shock.  
  
"Why?" Jess asked, leaning against Rory's computer table.  
  
"Because it's Tuesday night in Stars Hollow," Rory explained. "There's nowhere to bail to, the 24-hour mini-mart just closed twenty minutes ago."  
  
'Twenty minutes ago. It's 8:20 right now. My god, I'm in hell."  
  
"So we'll walk around or sit on a bench and stare at our shoes," he suggested.  
  
'Oh my god! No! Just say no Rory. Say it!. . .well maybe I. . .No! You don't even know him. You met what? 30 seconds ago? Well technically five minutes . . .but that doesn't make a difference. But he is Luke's nephew, and you trust Luke. Besides he's new in town and you can't just let him walk around alone. God, do you know how insane you sound? He's what 16? 17? He is quit capable of taking care of himself. Well, maybe he just wants someone to talk to-"  
  
"Rory?"  
  
"What?" she said snapping out of her thoughts.  
  
"Look if you don't want to. . ." Jess began.  
  
"I. . .I do. I'll go," Rory rushed.  
  
Jess raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"  
  
Hell no. "Yeah, I'm sure. Hang on a sec," she said, turning and walking over to her bedroom door and closing it.  
  
Once her door was shut she turned and made her way back to the window, praying she wouldn't regret it.  
  
A/N Hey, this wasn't extremely descriptive or action packed, but you have to start somewhere. Anyway let me know what you think. 


	2. Tingles and Butterflies

A/N Hey, hello. I'm back. . .I know, way to state the obvious. I've just been busy with finals and my new classes. Anyway, here is the new chapter, I hope you like it, and please, please, please R&R.  
  
Also, the idea for Rory being blind came from a friend of the family. The circumstances in which he lost his sight and how Rory lost hers are the same, minus the fact the person I know had diabetes.  
  
When she thought back on her decision a couple of words sprang to mind: crazy, irresponsible, stupid, immature. . .irresponsible. Okay, so she already got that one but, it bared repeating and, hey while she was at it. . .stupid and crazy.  
  
Although, when he'd grabbed her hand, helping her from the window. . .tingles and butterflies, which was crazy because she just met him. She didn't even know his last name. . .but, still. . .when he'd grabbed her hand, something about him had felt un arguably right.  
  
"So," Jess said, instantly putting a stop to her internal conflict. "What have you read lately?"  
  
"What?" Rory asked, turning to face him.  
  
"Your books, what have you read?"  
  
"Oh," Rory said, giving him a small smile. "The Fountainhead, again."  
  
"Again?" Jess asked, as they crossed the street. "As in more than once."  
  
"Yeah," Rory answered, leading him to the gazebo. "Of course, haven't you?"  
  
"I have yet to get through it," Jess admitted as he watched Rory navigate her way up the stairs, impressed with the fact that although she was blind she wasn't handicapped.  
  
"You should give it another try, it's really good," Rory said as she sat down.  
  
"Yeah but, Ayn Rand is a political nut."  
  
Rory shook her head, a small smile played across her face. "I still think you should give it another go but. . ."  
  
"Maybe I will," Jess told her.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Really."  
  
They slipped into a comfortable silence. Jess glanced around the town. All store lights and many house lights were off. It was quiet; he wasn't sure what to think. His gaze traveled back to Rory. She sat there, staring at. . .well, nothing. She couldn't really stare could she. His gaze slipped from her face to her hands. She was twisting a small ring. He could just make out the word 'Best' printed on it.  
  
He opened his mouth ready to inquire about the ring when she cut him off.  
  
"What have you read?" Rory inquired.  
  
"The Old Man and The Sea," Jess answered as he shoved his hands in his coat pockets, trying to warm them, "Again."  
  
"Urgh, Hemmingway."  
  
"What? You don't like him?" Jess asked, turning to look at her.  
  
"Oh I do," she reassured him. "He works much faster than warm milk or counting fluffy pink sheep."  
  
"Pink?" Jess asked, eyebrows raised.  
  
Rory smiled and shook her head. "Don't ask."  
  
They lapsed into another silence. Jess once again found his gaze drifting to her face. He wasn't trying to make her uncomfortable, he just wanted to know. It was normal to be curious about it. How many children close their eyes and walk around the house, just to see what it would be like? But that was the difference. When the kids were done they could open their eyes, end the game. Where as she. . .couldn't  
  
Rory smiled slightly, she could feel his eyes on her. She was used to it, people staring; wanting to ask but never quit getting it out. It was like they were afraid of her, how she would react. Not everyone acted like that. But, people who usually got up the nerve to ask her were under eight years old and, it actually didn't take much nerve on their part, kids were usually really blunt. Kids could make statements like, "You're blind," or ask things like "Do you bump into things?"  
  
Stuff like that never bothered her, which was exactly what she told the parents who tried to hush their children. In all honesty what bothered her was the staring. She knew people were just curious but, she always felt separate when people stared, different. She wasn't different. Her blindness didn't change anything. She could walk, talk, and eat with the best of them.  
  
Finally she decided she had to say something and, according to kids direct approach was the best. "Go ahead," Rory said, snapping Jess out of his thoughts.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Ask," she answered. "I know you want to."  
  
"Okay," Jess said, leaning back and stretching his feet out in front of him. "How long?"  
  
"Sense I was eight," Rory answered, turning her body to face him. "Next."  
  
Jess smirked; maybe this town wouldn't be so bad after all.  
  
"How'd it happen?" he asked.  
  
"I was having some problems with my eyes," Rory explained to an attentive Jess. "My mom took me to a doctor. He suggested I have surgery, so I had surgery," Rory paused for a moment, sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I woke up and I couldn't see."  
  
Jess glanced over at her, feeling angry at whoever did this to her, "I'm sorry."  
  
Rory shook her head, gracing him with a small smile. "It's not your fault."  
  
Jess shrugged, "just seems like someone should say it."  
  
"Doesn't matter, it's just words. It doesn't change anything."  
  
They were both silent for a moment before Jess asked, "Is it permanent?"  
  
Rory shrugged, "Depends on the person. Some people never get their sight back, some people are able to tell the difference between light and dark and, some get their sight back completely."  
  
Jess started to nod before realizing she couldn't see, "Huh."  
  
"So," Rory said after a moment.  
  
"So, what?"  
  
"So, I told you about my whole blind thing, your turn."  
  
"What do you want to know?" Jess asked, turning to face her.  
  
"Something, anything. Why did you move here?"  
  
Jess started playing with the lighter in his pocket, turning it over in his hand. "Can you keep a secret?" he asked.  
  
"Yes," Rory answered, leaning closer.  
  
Huh," Jess said as he straightened up. "Me too."  
  
Rory sat back, shooting him a mock glare. "Fine mystery man, you have a last name?"  
  
Jess stared at her for a moment, "Why?"  
  
"Geez, what are you? A spy?"  
  
"A spy?"  
  
"You haven't answered a single question," Rory told him. "What's your code name? Jess no-name?"  
  
"Mariano," jess finally said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"My last name, Mariano."  
  
"Mariano," Rory repeated, trying it out, liking the way it sounded rolling off her tong. "Jess Mariano."  
  
"Rory Gilmore," Jess said with a smirk.  
  
Rory smiled, shaking her head.  
  
"So," Jess said after a moment. "Anything else you want to know?"  
  
Rory turned her eyes to the ground, thinking, then looked up, shaking her hair from her face. "Why are we here?" she asked.  
  
Jess shrugged off the question. "Pot lucks and Tupperware parties aren't really my thing."  
  
"Too cool for school?"  
  
"Yes that is me," Jess said with a nod of his head.  
  
"Okay," Rory said, accepting that there were some questions he wasn't going to answer. "Whatever you say mystery man."  
  
A/N Okay that's all for now and, please, please, please R&R. 


End file.
